3 things for Sixers fans to know about the Pistons

3 things for Sixers fans to know about the Pistons

The Philadelphia 76ers hit the road on Tuesday night as they head to Detroit to take on the Pistons. Detroit enters the game at 2-0 and has won both games by five points combined. As for the Sixers, they’re coming off a close victory at home against the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

Let’s take a look at three things Sixers fans should watch for ahead of the Eastern Conference matchup.

Rebounds could be hard to come by against Detroit

It’s one thing to deal with Andre Drummond on the boards, but when you have both him and Blake Griffin on the front line, it makes for tough sledding. Both players average over 10 rebounds per game and will surely test Joel Embiid early. Even more of a problem the Sixers could have is that Detroit is second in the league in offensive rebounds averaging 17 over their first two games.

Head coach Brett Brown has to get this team to focus on cleaning up the glass early and often. With Ben Simmons out, look for Amir Johnson to get an extended run against Detroit’s front line. Johnson for his career averages over nine rebounds a game per 36 minutes.

Reggie Jackson and Detroit’s pick and roll game

One thing about the Pistons is that they’ve always boasted a solid pick and roll game. When healthy, Reggie Jackson is one of the best in the entire league. Detroit can use this in a variety of different ways, including allowing Drummond to float to the basket for easy alley-oops.

If Griffin is in the pick and roll, he’s so skilled that he can either hit the mid-range jumper or follow Drummond’s lead and sky over defenders.

With Simmons out, T.J. McConnell, Markelle Fultz and rookie Landry Shamet will have to make sure that Jackson is taken out of the game in that aspect. Since Joel Embiid is needed in the paint to stop the potential roll, as long as the trio can get around the opening screen the Sixers should be in good shape. The only concern is if Fultz gets caught in the two-man game because he’s not as good of a defender as the other two players.

Pistons defend the 3-point shot well

In the two games they have played so far, Detroit has done a great job defending teams from beyond the arc. They’ve held teams to 25 percent from 3-point range. Specifically, Stanley Johnson and Bruce Brown have excelled at guarding the perimeter. They forced the Brooklyn Nets to shoot 5-27 from distance in the season opener.

Philadelphia is coming off their best shooting game from deep. JJ Redick hit eight 3-pointers and the team ended up with 17 on Saturday. The most impressive part is they did it with Simmons only playing eight minutes. Even though he didn’t take a single 3-pointer, Fultz contributed with seven assists and the Sixers had 33 total on 45 made baskets.

With Fultz set to be a playmaker again, his driving to the basket should cause the Pistons defense to collapse on him, leading to more wide open looks for the Sixers. It will be an even better night if Dario Saric can get hot from beyond the arc to pull Griffin away from rebounding chances.

After tonight’s game, the Sixers have a quick turnaround as they travel to Milwaukee to play the Bucks on ESPN Wednesday.